It is an established fact that the human mind and the human body are linked. There are scores of examples that prove that several physical ailments can be cured with the power of the mind. Likewise, physical pains can affect the mind. That is why sleep deprivation, that is a physical problem, leads to anxiety issues.
Conversely, sleep can be used for combating anxiety problems. To extend this further, if you are deprived of proper sleep consecutively for many days, there may be what is known as “sleep debt” that can cause anxiety disorders.
Tackle anxiety issues by focusing on sleep debt
Even if you are generally a cool person who is not in the habit of worrying much about anything, you cannot assume that sleep deprivation will not affect you. It may cause anxiety problems in you also. Apart from these problems, there may be many other issues that are linked to anxiety, stress, etc. That being the case, sleep debt can produce more negative effects on those who have a natural tendency to have anxiety. So, they may find it difficult to cope up with the signs and symptoms of the issue.
Why sleep deprivation leads to anxiety issues
If you think that sleep debt will cause anxiety problem only through a single route, you are certain to be proved wrong. There may be many issues that may lead to the overall symptoms of anxiety problem. These issues are discussed here.
Body stress
Physical stress may be one of the issues or causes for anxiety. This physical stress may be due to sleep debt or may be due to your body’s inability to make use of your sleep to relieve you of the day’s stress. It is a known fact that it is during sleep that the body does the task of repairing itself. Muscle tensions decrease and the whole body relaxes only when you sleep. All the issues due to stress will also be eliminated if you have a good sleep. If there is sleep deprivation, stress builds up and so, other issues that include not being to cope with or manage stress may disturb you the following day.
In short, if your mind has stressful thoughts, it may be due to your physical stress. From this, it is evident that the connection between the human mind and the human body is real. So, when you are not allowing your body to repair or rejuvenate during sleep, stress builds up to a great extent.
Brain stress
If you think sleep deprivation may only cause physical stress, you are committing a mistake. It may even lead to brain dysfunctions and these dysfunctions may lead to more anxiety. Further, excessive sleep deprivation may cause hallucinations and many other mental as well as emotional symptoms that are similar to those of paranoid schizophrenia.
Though experts have not yet found how sleep deprivation leads to anxiety issues, they are clear about the fact that brain neurons are regenerated during sleep. This process positively impacts the thought process, emotions and both mental and physical health. When there is sleep deprivation, regeneration of neurons does not happen efficiently and in extreme cases, there may be complete cessation of neuron regeneration. These experts have clearly found out that a few areas in the brain like the temporal lobe may not function at all if there is excessive sleep deprivation. Another problem may be that hormones may not get regulated properly due to lack of sleep. This may also cause anxiety issues.
Should anxiety be cured or should you live with it?
You should not attempt to manage anxiety issues. You should try to cure the problem completely. There are several ways like journal writing, changing the places where you sleep, developing routines, etc. for curing sleep-related problems.
Tackling anxiety is important
Sometimes, anxiety issues themselves may prevent you from sleeping and so, you should first attempt to tackle this problem.
It is true that experts have not come out with categorical proof to establish the link between sleep deprivation and anxiety issues. But, the human brain may not be able to regenerate neurons due to lack of sleep. This increases the chances of occurrences of anxiety issues.